Wayne... This will be in the living room and there is a bedroom above
it, so I won't have access to studs. But the fan box is a great
idea. I saw them at the store, but wasn't sure how they expand to
bite into the studs. Looks like there's a mechanism that when
tightened, expands the brace. If not that, then I'll just support the
weight on the drywall alone.

Thanks for all the advice!

On Nov 13, 7:23 pm, (Doug Miller) wrote:
In article . com, fourrings wrote:

Trad... The light fixture is not too heavy so, while not ideal, I'd
probably get away supporting it by drywall alone.

Doug... I've looked at the different boxes at Lowes and the only one I
can see working for my application is the one w/ three ears that open
up on the other side of the ceiling and act as a vise to clamp the
drywall. Would that be per code?

Yes, absolutely -- that's exactly what those boxes are made for.

Are there any better solutions for
pre-existing ceiling installs?

Not really -- that's quite good enough.

I'm limited on my options as I will
have a specific place where the box will have to mount and I might not
be lucky enough to get a stud there. Here's a link to a similar light
I'm installing. I plan to have two of these in one row.

http://www.lumens.com/lumens/assets/...LPMNGELODH.jpg

You should be fine. Drywall is capable of supporting a lot more weight than
many people think.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.